A TOWN centre nightspot ordered to close following a suspected shooting is to reopen soon.

A TOWN centre nightspot ordered to close following a suspected shooting is to reopen soon.

That was the assurance from Candu Entertainments, the owners of Liquid Rock, which was originally set for a re-launch at the start of April under a new name and with airport-style security barriers. But the entrance door remains boarded up.

It is more than four months since the Great George Street club was closed by the council at the request of police after reports that a reveller had been shot during a brawl.

A Salford man was later admitted to hospital with a bullet wound in his buttock.

Details of the re-branding are still being kept under wraps, but a spokeswoman for Oxford-based Candu Entertainments said: "We are planning to re-open the venue soon."

Liquid Rock was one of the first pubs and clubs to be shut under the new licensing laws, which give councils the same power as magistrates.

At about the same time, councillors decided to shut the King's Arms on Langley estate, Middleton, after five shots were fired inside.

Candu has previously denied that any shooting took place at Liquid Rock.

In December, Phil Woods, their regional operations manager, revealed that he had been in talks with the police with a view to stepping up security when the incident was said to have taken place.

At the time, he said: "We have agreed to put a range of new procedures in place which will include employing new staff and training existing staff to a higher standard.

"We want to improve the venue to make it a safe and secure place to have a good night out."